Method and apparatus for providing POI information in portable terminal

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for providing Point Of Interest (POI) information in a portable terminal are provided. The method includes displaying an image mapped with at least one POI on a screen, sensing if the screen is touched in a closed curve shape, and displaying information on the POI mapped to an area within a closed curve of the displayed image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application is related to and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to a Korean Patent Application filed in theKorean Intellectual Property Office on Sep. 7, 2009 and assigned SerialNo. 2009-0083801, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providingPoint Of Interest (POI) information in a portable terminal. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatusfor providing POI information in a portable terminal that supports MixedReality (MR) technology.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, a technology for making viewers simultaneously enjoythe virtual world and the real world using an overlay technique oflaying a graphic or text image that shows a description of the realthing over a real image input through a camera and an MR technique in aportable terminal has been developed.

For example, a technique for, after displaying an icon for showinginformation on a specific topographical feature, displaying theinformation on a preview screen if a user selects the icon in a portableterminal is available. Also, a technique for displaying POI informationon a screen when there is a topographical feature with POI within apredetermined focus area in a preview screen is available.

However, the above scheme has a disadvantage such that, when there aretoo many icons in a screen, it is difficult to individually select theicons that the user intends to view. When the topographical feature withPOI exists in the preview screen but not within the predetermined focusarea, this causes an inconvenience in that the user has to manually movea camera such that the topographical feature is included within thepredetermined focus area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention is to substantially solve at leastthe above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least theadvantages below. Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is toprovide a method and apparatus for providing Point Of Interest (POI)information in a portable terminal.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method andapparatus for providing POI information in a portable terminalsupporting a Mixed Reality (MR) technology.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method andapparatus for displaying information on a POI included within a closedcurve drawn according to a user's touch in a portable terminalsupporting an MR technology.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method andapparatus for transmitting information on a selected POI to other MobileStation (MS) through a message in a portable terminal supporting an MRtechnology.

The above aspects are achieved by providing a method and apparatus forproviding POI information in a portable terminal.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for providingPOI information in a portable terminal is provided. The method includesdisplaying an image mapped to at least one POI on a screen, sensingwhether the screen is touched in a closed curve shape, and displayinginformation on a POI mapped to an area within a closed curve of thedisplayed image.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method forproviding POI information in a portable terminal is provided. The methodincludes receiving a message including POI information. When the messageincluding the POI information is received, a link function menu isprovided using the POI information. The link function menu includes atleast one of ‘Auto Calling’, ‘Web Link’, and ‘Navigation’.

According to another further aspect of the present invention, anapparatus for providing POI information in a portable terminal isprovided. The apparatus includes a display unit and a controller. Thedisplay unit displays an image that is mapped to at least one POI on ascreen. The controller senses whether the screen is touched in a closedcurve shape and controls the display unit to display information on aPOI mapped to an area within a closed curve of the displayed image.

According to a yet another aspect of the present invention, an apparatusfor providing POI information in a portable terminal is provided. Theapparatus includes a controller for, when a message including POIinformation is received from other MS, providing a link function menuusing the POI information. The link function menu includes at least oneof ‘Auto Calling’, ‘Web Link’, and ‘Navigation’.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION below, itmay be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words andphrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and“comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion withoutlimitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases“associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivativesthereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with,contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, becommunicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximateto, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like.Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout thispatent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understandthat in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, aswell as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 illustrates a portable terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a process for displaying information on a Point OfInterest (POI) included within a closed curve drawn according to auser's touch in a portable terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 3A to 3C illustrates a screen configuration of displayinginformation on a POI included within a closed curve drawn according to auser's touch in a portable terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrates a screen configuration of displayinginformation on a plurality of POIs included within a closed curve drawnaccording to a user's touch in a portable terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a process for transmitting information on a selectedPOI to other Mobile Station (MS) in a portable terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A to 6D illustrate a screen configuration of transmittinginformation on a selected POI to other MS in a portable terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a link function for a received message including POIinformation in a portable terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a screen configuration of performing multi selectionusing a closed curve in a portable terminal according to an embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 through 7, discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the principles of the present disclosure may beimplemented in any suitably arranged portable terminals.

The following description is made for a technique for displayinginformation on a Point Of Interest (POI) included within a closed curvedrawn according to a user's touch, and transmitting information on aselected POI to a Mobile Station (MS) through a message in a portableterminal supporting a Mixed Reality (MR) technology according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a portable terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the portable terminal includes a controller 100, acamera unit 110, a communication module 120, a storage unit 130, adisplay unit 140, and an input unit 150. The controller 100 includes aPOI controller 102, and the storage unit 130 includes a POI Database(DB) 132.

The controller 100 controls and processes a general operation of theportable terminal. Particularly, the controller 100 includes the POIcontroller 102 according to the present invention. Upon execution of anapplication providing POI information using MR, the controller 100controls and processes a function for sensing a touch of a closed curveshape, searching information on a POI existing within a closed curve,and displaying the searched information on a screen of the display unit140. Also, the controller 100 controls and processes a function forincluding the POI information displayed on the screen in a message andtransmitting the message including the POI information to other MS, bymeans of the POI controller 102.

Upon execution of the application providing the POI information, the POIcontroller 102 acquires POI information corresponding to an image inputthrough the camera unit 110. At this time, the POI information may beeither acquired from the POI DB 132 or may be acquired from an externaldevice or a network. Here, the POI controller 102 may display theexistence of the POI information corresponding to the image on thescreen by means of an icon. The icon is displayed in a position of anarea of the image corresponding to a corresponding POI.

When the screen is touched by a user during the execution of theapplication that provides the POI information, the POI controller 102receives a coordinate of the touch from the input unit 150, anddetermines if the touch is performed in a closed curve shape. When thetouch is performed in the closed curve shape, the POI controller 102determines if there exists a POI corresponding to an area within aclosed curve of the displayed image. Here, the POI controller 102 maydetermine if the icon is displayed in the area within the closed curveof the displayed image, or may determine if the POI corresponding to thearea exists within the closed curve of the displayed image through asearch of the POI DB 132. If the POI corresponding to the area existswithin the closed curve of the displayed image, the POI controller 102searches information on the POI in the POI DB 132 and displays thesearched POI information on the screen of the display unit 140.

Also, in a state in which the POI information is displayed on thescreen, when a Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia Message Service(MMS) message send menu is selected, the POI controller 102 converts thePOI information displayed on the screen into a text and displays an SMSor MMS message creation screen including the text on the display unit140. When the MMS message send menu is selected, the POI controller 102acquires a thumbnail image of an image displayed on the screen andincludes the thumbnail image in the MMS message creation screen. Also,in a state in which the POI information is displayed on the screen, whenan image capture event takes place by a user, the POI controller 102captures the screen of the portable terminal to acquire an image, andconverts the POI information displayed on the screen into a text. If theMMS message send menu is selected, the POI controller 102 displays anMMS message creation screen including the captured image and theconverted text. If a user sends a message, the POI controller 102controls and processes a function for sending a created SMS or MMSmessage.

The camera unit 110 includes a camera sensor (not shown) and a signalprocessor (not shown). The camera unit 110 converts an optic signalsensed through the camera sensor during image photographing into anelectrical signal, converts an analog image signal photographed from thecamera sensor into digital data through the signal processor, processesthe image signal into a frame unit, and provides the image signal to thecontroller 100.

The communication module 120 performs a function fortransmitting/receiving and processing a radio signal of datainput/output through an antenna (not shown). Particularly, thecommunication module 120 processes a signal for transmitting/receiving amessage including POI information according to the present invention.

The storage unit 130 stores various kinds of programs and data forgeneral operation of the portable terminal, and includes the POI DB 132according to the present invention. The POI DB 132 stores POI name anddetail information on specific topographical features. The POI DB 132may be also previously stored, and may be updated by a network or anexternal device.

The display unit 140 displays state information of the portableterminal, numerals, characters, a large amount of moving pictures andstill pictures, and such. Particularly, the display unit 140 displaysPOI information or a POI icon in a predetermined area of a screen anddisplays a message creation screen including the text-converted POIinformation or a POI related image, under control of the controller 100.

The input unit 150 includes a plurality of function keys and numeral andcharacter keys, and provides input data corresponding to a key pressedby a user or a user's touch to the controller 100.

FIG. 2 illustrates a process for displaying information on a POIincluded within a closed curve drawn according to a user's touch in aportable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, if an information provision application using MR isexecuted in block 201, the portable terminal proceeds to block 203 anddisplays an image input from a camera on a screen, displaying a POI iconon a preview screen displaying the image thereon. That is, the portableterminal acquires POI information corresponding to the image displayedon the screen and, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, displays POI icons forshowing that POI information exists in the image. At this time, the iconis displayed in near the image corresponding to a corresponding POI.

In block 205, the portable terminal senses if a user's touch isgenerated. If the user's touch is generated, the portable terminalproceeds to block 207 and determines if the touch is a touch of a closedcurve shape. That is, the portable terminal recognizes a coordinate ofthe user's initial contact and, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, determines ifthe touch forms the closed curve shape. The portable terminal mayindicate to a user the position in which the screen is touched bydisplaying, using dots or lines, coordinates in which the screen istouched.

If the user's touch forms a closed curve shape, in block 209, theportable terminal determines if a POI exists within the closed curve ofthe displayed image. Here, the portable terminal may determine if anicon is displayed in the area within the closed curve of the displayedimage, or may determine if the POI corresponding to the area existswithin the closed curve of the displayed image through a search of a POIDB.

If the POI corresponding to the area exists within the closed curve ofthe displayed image, in block 211, the portable terminal searchesinformation on the POI in the POI DB, and displays the searched POIinformation on the screen. For example, when a touch is performed in aclosed curve shape and one POI exists within a closed curve asillustrated in FIG. 3B, the portable terminal displays information onthe one POI on the screen as illustrated in FIG. 3C. Also, when a touchis performed in a closed curve shape and a plurality of POIs existwithin a closed curve as illustrated in FIG. 4A, the portable terminaldisplays information on the plurality of POIs on the screen asillustrated in FIG. 4B.

In contrast, when no POI corresponding to the area exists within theclosed curve of the displayed image, in block 213, the portable terminaleliminates the closed curve displayed on the screen and terminates theprocedure according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process for transmitting information on a selectedPOI to other MS in a portable terminal according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, if a specific POI is selected by a user in a screendisplaying an image with the POI in block 501, the portable terminalproceeds to block 503 and displays information related to the selectedPOI on the screen.

In block 505, the portable terminal determines if a message send menu isselected or an image capture menu is selected.

If the message send menu is selected, the portable terminal proceeds toblock 507 and searches information on the selected POI in a POI DB 132,and converts the searched POI information into a text. In block 509, theportable terminal determines whether the message send menu is fortransmitting an SMS or MMS.

If the message send menu is for transmitting SMS, in block 511, theportable terminal displays a message creation screen that includes aconverted text and proceeds to block 513. For example, in a state inwhich POI information on a specific building is displayed as illustratedin FIG. 6A, if an SMS message creation menu is selected, the portableterminal displays a message creation screen that includes the POIinformation on the specific building as illustrated in FIG. 6B.

Alternatively, if the message send menu is for transmitting MMS, inblock 515, the portable terminal acquires a thumbnail image of the imagedisplayed on the screen. The portable terminal then proceeds to block517 and displays a message creation screen that includes the convertedtext and the thumbnail image, and proceeds to block 513. For example, ina state in which the POI information on the specific building isdisplayed as illustrated in FIG. 6A, if an MMS message creation menu isselected, the portable terminal displays a message creation screen thatincludes the POI information on the specific building and the thumbnailimage for the specific building as illustrated in FIG. 6B.

If the image capture menu is selected in block 505, the portableterminal proceeds to block 519 and captures the screen displaying thePOI information to acquire an image. The portable terminal then proceedsto block 521 and searches information on the selected POI in the POI DB132, and converts the searched POI information into text.

In block 523, the portable terminal determines if an MMS message sendmenu is selected. If the MMS message send menu is selected in block 523,the portable terminal proceeds to block 525 and displays a messagecreation screen that includes the converted text and the captured image,and proceeds to block 513. For example, when the POI information on thespecific building is displayed as illustrated in FIG. 6A, if an imagecapture menu is selected, the portable terminal captures the screen ofthe portable terminal and acquires an image illustrated in FIG. 6C, anddisplays a message creation screen including the POI information on thespecific building and the captured image as illustrated in FIG. 6D.

If the MMS message send menu is not selected in block 523, the portableterminal terminates the procedure according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

Next, in block 513, the portable terminal sends a message composed by auser to an MS, and terminates the procedure according to the embodimentof the present invention.

By transmitting POI information to an MS through a message, a receivingMS that is not equipped with an information provision application usingMR may still share the POI information. Also, the MS that receives themessage including the POI information is able to determine that a POI isincluded within the message through a controller, and provide a linkfunction such as ‘Auto Calling’, ‘Web Link’, and ‘Navigation’ on thebasis of the POI information as illustrated in FIG. 7.

Additionally, when a user's touch is generated in a closed curve shapeas discussed, the present invention performs a function such asselecting a POI icon that exists within a closed curve, but may alsoperform a function of selecting a different icon using the closed curve.For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, when a plurality of menu iconsexist within a closed curve drawn according to a user's touch, thepresent invention may simultaneously select the plurality of menu icons.

By displaying information on a POI included within a closed curve drawnaccording to a user's touch, the present invention has the capability toallow a user to intuitively select a focus for POI display and easilyacquire POI information in a portable terminal that supports MRtechnology. By transmitting information on a selected POI to an MSthrough a message, the present invention is able to share the POIinformation even with an MS that does not support MR technology. Also,by using a closed curve drawn according to a user's touch, the presentinvention has an effect of making multi selection possible.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing information in anelectronic device, the method comprising: displaying a plurality oficons around a plurality of objects that is included in a first imageobtained through a camera of the electronic device; based on receiving aclosed curve input to select an area on the first image, displaying aclosed curve shape by the electronic device on the first image;determining whether one or more icons of the plurality of icons arewithin the area; based on determining that none of the plurality oficons is within the area, eliminating the displayed closed curve shape;based on determining that one or more icons of the plurality of iconsare within the area, displaying information on the first image, aroundone or more objects of the plurality of objects corresponding to the oneor more icons, determined to be within the area; and storing the firstimage obtained through the camera along with the displayed information,as a second image.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality oficons around the plurality of objects includes a plurality of iconsindicating a plurality of points of interest (POI), and wherein theplurality of icons is displayed in a position of the area of the firstimage mapped to at least one corresponding POI.
 3. The method of claim1, further comprising: based on selecting of a short message service(SMS) send menu, converting the displayed information into a text;displaying an SMS creation screen comprising the displayed informationconverted into the text; and transmitting an SMS completed by a user toa mobile station (MS).
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:based on selecting of a multimedia message service (MMS) send menu,converting the displayed information into a text; acquiring a thumbnailimage of the first image; displaying an MMS creation screen comprisingthe information converted into the text and the thumbnail image; andtransmitting an MMS completed by a user to an MS.
 5. The method of claim1, further comprising: based on determining that none of the pluralityof icons is within the area, determining whether at least one menu iconexists within the area; and based on determining that the menu iconexists within the area, selecting the at least one menu icon.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: storing the information on a POIin a database; and acquiring the information on the POI from thedatabase.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising acquiring theinformation on a POI from an external source.
 8. An electronic devicecomprising: a camera; a display configured to display a plurality oficons around a plurality of objects that is included in a first imageobtained through the camera; and a controller configured to: based onreceiving a closed curve input to select an area on the first image,control the display to display a closed curve shape by the electronicdevice on the first image; determine whether one or more icons of theplurality of icons are within the area; based on determining that noneof the plurality of icons is within the area, control the display toeliminate the displayed closed curve shape; based on determining thatone or more icons of the plurality of icons are within the area, controlthe display to display information on the first image, around one ormore objects of the plurality of objects corresponding to the one ormore icons, determined to be within the area; and store the first imageobtained through the camera along with the displayed information, as asecond image.
 9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the pluralityof icons around the plurality of objects includes a plurality of iconsindicating a plurality of points of interest (POI), and wherein theplurality of icons are displayed in a position of the area of the firstimage mapped to at least one corresponding POI.
 10. The electronicdevice of claim 8, wherein, based on selecting of a short messageservice (SMS) send menu, the controller is configured to: convert thedisplayed information into a text; control the display to display an SMScreation screen comprising POI information converted into the text; andtransmit an SMS completed by a user to a mobile station (MS).
 11. Theelectronic device of claim 8, wherein, based on selecting of amultimedia message service (MMS) send menu, the controller is furtherconfigured to: convert the displayed information into a text; acquire athumbnail image of the first image; control the display to display anMMS creation screen comprising the displayed information converted intothe text and the thumbnail image; and transmit an MMS completed by auser to an MS.
 12. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein, based ondetermining that none of the plurality of icons is within the area, thecontroller is further configured to: determine whether at least one menuicon exists within the area; and based on determining that the menu iconexists within the area, select the at least one menu icon.
 13. Theelectronic device of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured toacquire the displayed information on a POI from an external source.